Coin device



June 28, 1960 w. A. PATZER COIN DEVICE Filed Oct. 16, 1957 FLTG. J

Q4 7 war? 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HIE-Ell!!! INVENTOR. William 6!. $41362 QZMfWJune 28, 1960 w. A. PATZER 2,942,713

com DEVICE Filed Oct. 16, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1' 46 I a h INVENTOR. a?ZUz/Zz'anz 6!.142362 United States ate-tits cons nnvrcn A. Patzer,Chicago, 11]., assignor to- Seth B. Atwood, Rocldor'tLIll. 7

Filed Oct. 16, 1957, Set-(No. 690,545

10 Claims. (Cl. 194-99.).

This invention vrelates to a. coin indicator, and more particularly to adevice for selectively responding to the deflection causes themicroswitch to momentarily close,

thereby(actuating the vending machine, either directly .through closinga simple on-ofi switch-in a circuit connected to the vending machine, orindirectly by driving a rotary switch whose angular position ,is relatedto the amount of money inserted in these coin slots. Such a switchrotates until the proper amount of money is inserted in the machine, atwhich time it makes acontact which closes a circuit and actuates thevending machine. Such devices are commonly'known as accumulators ortotalizers.

In either case, changing economic conditionsfluctuating costs of laborandmaterials, and changes in the nature of the product sold by thevending .machine, make it desirable to be able to easily adjust thevending machine to vary the prices charged for the merchandise. Suchadjustments are possible to a limited extent in existing equipment bychanging the angular position of the hot contact point in theaccumulator, or by shorting outor rearranging the connections betweenthemicroswitches associated with each coin slot. For example, in vendingmachinesvof the type described above which are provided with slots forreceiving quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies, it would be acomparatively simple matter to connect the microswitches in aconventional circuit .for selectively selling products .for 25, 10, 50,or 1 or for their sums, 26, 30, 31, 35, 36, 40, and 41. On the otherhand, it would be much more difilcult to adjust such vending machines tosell products for 57 or for 82 for example, because such a modificationwould require a fundamental redesign of the circuit.

Similarly, although accumulators are more easily adaptable toadjustments injprice, they too have aprice "ceiling which cannot beexceeded without afundamental redesign of the circuit, or by providinganother enlarged accumulator. Furthermore, although the accumulators canbe adjusted, within limits, each adjustment is .in increments of 5. Thisis not always satisfactory since price increases of only '1 arefrequently needed, and anything greater might render the productnon-competitive from a price standpoint. More particularly, it oftenhappens that products which sell for 5 :or 6 must be raised to 7, orproducts which sell for 25 must be raised to 27. This cannot beconveniently done by existing equipment, and it would he uneconomical togo to the expense of completely redesigning this equipment to providethe additional price flexibility.

What is needed, therefore, and comprises the principal object of thisinvention, is a device for conveniently adjusting the prices which avending machine can charge for the merchandise to permit a greaterflexibility and range in them.

.A further object of invention to provide a modified coin-receivingmechanism for coin-operated vending machines which can be attached .tothe vending machine without extensive modificatiom'and whichgreatlysrilarges h n e o P s P W i h e m n can charge for the merchandise.

Still another object of this .inventionis to provide amodifiedcoinaeceivingmechanism for electrically operated vendingmachines which greatly enlarges .therange number of possible prices thevending machine can char-geafor themerchandise, and which .nntrequireany modification of the electrical circuit.

Yet another object of this invention .toprovide a modifiedcoin-receiving mechanism which canbe adjusted in a simple and efficientmanner selectively to vary the price of merchandise by:one or two centsto change .the price from 6 cents to 7 cents or from 7 cents to 6 cents,for example. i i

Still another object of this invention is provide a simple, easilyconstructed, coin-receiving.mechanismior electrically operated vendingmachines which can greatly enlarge 'the number and range of possibleprices which ,the vending machine can charge for the merchandise.

These and other objects and advantages of thisinvention will become moreapparent whenread inthe light of the accompanying drawings andspecification wherein- .Figure l'is a front elevational view of thecoin-receiving mechanism for an electrical vending machine with one coinslot constructed according to the principles of invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the coin-receiving mechanismdescribed above;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the coin-receiving mechmm;

Figure 4 is a rear view taken on the line 41-4 of Figure 2 and lookingin the direction indicated;

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the coinereceiving mechanismwith a microswitch removed to disclose the weighted support member insupporting position;

Figure 6 is a front elevational view of the coinereceiving mechanismwith a microswitch and upper vfront plate member removed and with theposition of the weighted support member in supporting position indicatedin dotted lines;

'Figure 7 is a frontelevat ional view of the coin-receiving mechanismwith the microswitch removed to show the 'weightedsupport' member inretracted position;

Figure 8 is a front elevational view of the coinereceiving mechanismwith a portion of the upper front plate member removed and showing theposition of the weighted support member in retracted position in dottedlines; and

Figure 9 is a sectional View taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 5 andlooking in the direction indicated.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, the coinreceiving mechanismindicated generally by the reference numeral 10 comprises a housing 12.The housing consists of a central portion'ldhaving downwardly extendingopen-faced coin-receiving slots :or channels formed on its opposedsides. These'channels include a penny-receiving channel 21, see Figure3. Front and rear upper plate members 16 and .18 are secured to theupper-part of the central portion 1401: the housing, see

Figure These plate members act to close the :open

faces of the coin-receiving channels described above, to restrict thepassage of coins therein. The-central port o 1 s o p o ed t a d wn a dextending and somewhat rectangular projection 20, see Figures 6 V V and8. This projecting portion provides an extension for thenickel-receiving channel 19 and the penny-receiving channel 21 on theopposite sides of the central portion 14. Front and rear lower platemembers 22 and 27 are secured to the opposite sidesof this projection 20to close the open faces of the'channels therein, see Figure 2.

Associated 'with each coinqeceiving] channel, and moiintedon these frontand rear-plate membersare a a plurality of microswitches, see Figures 1and 4. These I include microswit'ch'2'4 which islp'rovided witha coin-*sensing of actuating 2 5. is movable bei tween a switch-open and aswitch-closed position and V tegra lly attached, and inwardly projectingcoin-sensing is adapted'to*engagetheupper and lower edges of the is bentperpendicularly to form inwardly projecting step 7 portions. The endportion 26 of this arm penetiate'sthe upper front plate member- 16through an arc uatejslot 28 Figure 3; ,With thisarrang ement, when adime isinand terminatesinsidetheflime-receivihg channelzl7; see Isorted-in the dime-receiving channel 17 through the openings atthe topof the housing, it will engage and deflect the actuating arm and forceit to the lower edge of slot'28. This in turn'wilhcausefthe microswitch'24 to {close long enough to actuate a relay and a holding cirorcylindrical abutment member 66, and is also provided with an inwardlyprojecting'limit arm 67. This abutment opening 63 whenthe supportmemb er60 is rotated for restficfingiits p qta fieq m T'I' owcrjjarm of thisweighted support member-.60 isproyided with an integrally attachedflatmetal weight-70 mlbiasing thesupport member back to its supportingposition when it is momentarily rotated away from it, see Figure 7. 'Thelower end of 68; terminatesin a hat hook member 72 witha.straightiwork-engaging edge 73.: edge is adapted to engage the'coin-sensingportion 52015 the ac-' tua tingarm -48,'and keep it frommoving to the circuit ouit' (not shown), After thexdi-rne passes throughthe i channel 17, the actuating arm 25 spring-biased back 5 toitsrest'or circuit open position attheupper edge of "slot 28, see Figurel. The other microswitchesassm 'ciated with the fcoin-receivingmechanism operate in'a similar fashion," In particulaninicroswitch 30,see Fig-.

ure '4, is secured to the upper rear plate member 18. Thisrnieroswitchis also provided witha coin-sensing or actuating arm 32which is bent perpendicularly to form an inwardly projecting end portion34, see Figure '31 This "closed position when-the first penny isinserted in the coin-receiving slot 21, andin addition itcauses thecoin-' -'sen'sing portion 52to obstruct the further passage of thepennies-through the housingflz.v The upperyandlower arms of the weightedsupport member 60-a1 e so related -in size and shape, and the curve ofthe upper arm is so fend portion penetrates housing 12' through thearcuate 7 slot 36' which extends completely through the housing. 7 Slot36 also passes through the quarter-receiving channel 15, so when aquarter is inserted therein, the rnicroswitch will be momentarilyclosed. Another microswitch 38 is securedito the upper rear plate member18. This micro switch is provided with .anactuating arm 40 which is bentto form" an inwardly projecting portion 42. ,This portion penetrates anarcuatej slot 44 extending complete- "1y through'the housing andthrough-the nickel slot 19.

The final microswitch 46 is adapted to be actuated by pennies. 'Thismicroswitch is mounted on the lower front plate 22 and is provided'withthe usual actuating arm'48. arm is bent inwardly and penetratesthe-lower front plate 22. throughan arcuate window 50 formed therein,

terminating in-a. U-shaped coimsensing portion 52, see 11:

Figure 9. The base of this portion of the actuating arm 48Jrides'in agroove 23in the bottom surface of the penny-receiving channel 21. Thisis the microswitch which is adapted to be selectivelyclosed bythe-insertion of either one or two pennies, in. the penny-receivingchannel 21, as will be described below. 7

The 'microswitch 24 is mounted on asupporting plate 54, .see Figure l.This supporting plate is bolted to upwardly projecting 'lugnuts 56 whichare'integral' with the. central portion 14 of the housing, and whichpenetrate openings 58 in the upper front plate member 16, see Figures 17 and 8. An outwardly projecting pivot 'pin 59 is integral withthe upperfront plate member 16. A weighted support member acting as a selectivelyadjustable microswitch-deactivating means, and indicated generally bythe reference numeral- 60, is provided with a substantially centrallylocated pivot pinreceiving opening 62. This support member ispivotallymounted on pivot pin 59 which penetrates the pivotpin-receiving opening 62 The supportmember 60.is .heldonthispivot-pinpronounced, that-when a penny encounters abutment member 66 is exerts aforce on thesupport member 60 which is transverse to a radial lineextending fronrits pivotal axis of rotation, and consequently exerts atorque on' it which causes it'to rotate within the limits defined by thelimit slot 63 and the limit arm 67.

,A Y-shaped actuating or control lever member 74 is pivotally secured tothe upper front plate 16 at 76 by any conventional means such as arivet. A friction washer '(not shown) may be positioned between thelever member. 74 and the front plate member 16 to provide a means' forholding the lever in place until it is intentionally moved. The lowerend. 78 of lever 74 is forked 'to provide spaced abutments. One of thetines 80 of "the" forked portion 78 is bent perpendicularlyjso itprojects outwardly from the upper front plate member 16.

When the control lever 74 is pivoted in the clockwise direction, thistine engages the upper arm 64 of the pivoted supportmember 60 and forcesit to rotate until limit arm 67 moves into engagementwith the lower edgeof the limitfdetining opening 63 in the upper'front plate portion 16,see Figure 7. In this position, the hook member 73 of -the pivotedsupport member or microswitchdeactivating means is retracted and movedout of engagement'with the U-shaped coin-sensing portion 52 ofthe'actuating arm 48 ofthe microswitch 46, see Figures.

7 and 8. This corresponds to a conventional operation of the"coin-sensing mechanism so that each penny inserted in thepenny-receiving slot'21: engages. the unsupmovement frees thesupportmember 60 and permits it to rotate back to its supportingpositionin which the upp'er edge 73 of the hook member 72is in supportingengagement with the U-shaped'coin-sensing portion 52 of,

the actuating arm 48 inthe pennyqeceiving channel 21.

It is important to note'that thefforce directedagainst the hookmember'is along a radial line, with respect to the pivotal axis of thesupport memberi'60, so that the support member wont rotate because ofthe force exerted on it by the weight ofthe'penny, as it did when thepenny encountered the abutment or 'coin-sensing'member 66, see FiguresSand 9.

e erents To understand the operation of the coin-receiving mechanism 10,it must first be'understood that-when any of the microswitches aremcmentarily closed by -the passage of a coin in the slot, either the'rotary contact-arm of the accumulator is rotated a predeterminedamount,

corresponding to the amount of money "inserted, "or in :the more simplevending machines "which do notrequire an accumulator, one of-theswitches in'the 'circuit'tothc :vending'machine is made to close. Theabove-described structure provides a means for causing these micro-.switches to close just once for the passage of either one :nies 82which are inserted in'the-coin-receiving channel 21 of thecoin-receiving mechanism, see Figures "6 and 8. Accordingly, each pennyinsertedin the slot 21 will engage and deflect the actuating arm 48 onthe microswitch 46, momentarily closing that "switch as the coin passesout of the coin-receiving mechanism through the exit 84. Rotating theY-shaped control lever 74 to the position shown in Figure .5, permitsthepivoted support member 69 to rotate because of the biasing forceexerted by the weight 76. This rotation continues until the edge 73 ofthe hook member 72 moves back to its supporting position under therectangular coin-sensing portion 52 of the actuating arm '48 andthelimit arm 67 engages the upper edge of opening 63, see Figures 5 :and 6.This deactivates the microswitch by preventing the actuating arm frommoving when a single penny is inserted in slot 21. .Such a penny willmove downwardly in the slot until it engages and is stopped by theobstructing rectangular portion 52, see Figure 6.

Villrenever a penny is inserted in the coin-receiving channel 21, withthe support member ll in'the position shown in Figures 5 and 6, it firstencounters the abutment member .66. This encounter deflects the abutmentmember and pivots thesupport member 60 out-of supporting engagement withthe coin-sensing portion 52 of the actuating arm 48 in thepenny-receiving channel 2i. This movement of the abutment member 66 issufiicient to permit the inserted penny to pass by it and move down thecoin-receiving channel 21. After the penny passes the abutment mem er66, the biasing force exerted by the Weight 70 causes the support member'69 to rotate back to its .n'iicroswitch-deactivating or arm-sup-.porting position shown in "Figures 5 and 6. .If the control lever 74 isin the position shown in Figure 5, in which the vending machine isrequired'to *charge'an extra penny for the merchandise, the supportmember 60 must return to its supporting position before the firstinserted penny encounters the rectangular portion 52 of the actuatingarm 48. This requires that the weight of the support member 69 becarefully chosen to keep its inertia down to a minimum. As a furtheraid, the path of the channel 21 is bent slightly at .33, as shown inFigures 6 and 8, to slow the penny slightly and provide the "requiredtime delay, and in addition, the curve in the channel 21 acts torestrict the direction of the force exerted by the penny on the supportmember to a radial direction so that the pivotally mountedsupport'memberwill not rotate under that force.

To this point, the microswitch 46 has not 'closed despite the insertionof the first 'penuy. When, however, the second penny is inserted, itsengagement with the abutment member 66 overrides themicroswitch-deactivating support member 60 and causes it to rotate outof supporting engagement 'with the coin-sensing portion 52 of theactuating arm 48. This frees the first inserted penny retained in theslot and permits it to force arm 48 down to close the microswitch 46 asthe first inserted penny moves down the channel 21. Because of the massof the penny, there .an additional small time delay caused by itsinertia, and the frictional resistance it makes with the surface of thechannel 21. additional time delay is sufiicient to permit the secondinserted penny to catch .up with the first on'ebefore-='they .leavetheexit 84 of the penny-receiving channel 21. This keeps the actuatingarm48 deflectediand the microswitch 46 closed until "both'penniesmove-out-of the penny-rece'iving slot 21. In1tliis way, his apparentthat'by adiusting the actuating orcontrol lever 74, thecoin-receivingmechanism'can lbema'de to require two coins or pennies implace of'one'ifor a single closingof the microswitch 24,.and so that pricecharged forian'article selling 'for 15 for example, can be "raised to 7or reduced from"7 to 6without any further alteration or adjustment ofthevending machine.

In the example shown, the apparatus has beenapplied only to thepenny-receiving slot 21 for the purposes of illustration and becauseincrements of a penny in price of articles are very common. It is, ofcourse, obvious that the same modifications could be applied to'theother coin-receiving slots in thecoin-re'ceiving mechanism inthe'vending machine for greatlyincreasing or decreasing the possibleprices that the'vending machine can accept for the merchandise. Forexample, suppose each slot had this "mechanism attached so either one ortwo coins of a particular denomination wouldbe required to pass throughthe mechanism and close the associated microswitch, it would 'be at onceapparent that the maximum price that the vending machine could chargewould be doubled or reduced, or in the example described'in this case,the maximum price that a vending machine'without an accumulator couldcharge for the merchandise would be raised from 41 to 82. In addition,the number of possible prices between 143 and 82 which the machine couldcharge would be multiplied by 'a very considerable factor. This isbecause thereare four coin-receiving channels or slots, and each slotcould be adjusted to selectively receive either one or two coins.

For example, the various actuating or control levers could be adjustedso that the machine requires two quartcrs, one nickel and two penniesfor merchandise selling 'for 57, or these control levers could beadjusted so that the machine required one quarter, two dimes and onepenny for articles selling for 46, etc. 'It is'again pointed out thatall of these changes could be made without making any variation in theelectrical circuit. 'In addition, with reference to a coin-receivingmechansm of the type which drives an accumulator, it is apparent thatthis modification effectively doubles the capacity of the accumulatorwithout altering its electrical circuit, and in addition, increments ofone cent in the price of the merchandise would still be possible.

The invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from thespirit or essential characteristics thereof as set forth in the claims,and the present embodiment is therefore to be considered asillustrative" and not restrictive, and it is intended to include allchanges which come within the scope'andrange of the claims.

I claim:

l. A coin-receiving mechanism of the class described, comprising incombination a housing, 'saidhousing having at least one downwardlyextending coin-receiving slo't .therein, and circuit closing meansassociated with said housing, said circuit-closing means provided withan actuating arm movable between a circuit-"openpos'ition and acircuit-closing position, means biasing said actuating arm to acircuit-open position, said actuating 'armhaving a portion extendinginto said one coin-receiving slot whereby coins gravitating therethroughare adapted to engage said arm and momentarily move it to itiscircuitclosing position, a supporting member pivotally mounted on saidhousing and movableinto supporting engagement sition. 1

member'engages said actuating arm a coin inserted in saidslot isprevented from moving said actuating arm to. its circuit closingposition and its :passage through said coin receiving-slot is,obstructed'by said actuating arm, an abutment member rigidly connectedto said sup- 'porting member and positioned in said coin receiving slotin upwardly spaced relation to saidactuating arm,

' 2 said abutmentmemberqengaged and deflected by each coin, inserted in,said coin receiving slot so -that the'supp tt n mb r m ment ri r o e ouo upp 'fto supporting engagement with said actuating {after it has beenmomentarily moved out of supporting engagement with the actuating arm bythe insertion of a j coin in sa'id coin receiving slot, saidcoi'nreceiving slot shaped to-provide' a time delay f or the passage ofcoins the first inserted coin can engage and deflect'said por tion ofthe actuating arm whereby said first inserted 'coin is retained in saidcoin receiving slot, and shaped engagement with said ac'tuating arm sothat while'the support member-engages said actuating arma coin-ofsaidparticular denominationlinserteddn said slot is prevented frommoving said actuating arm to its switch closed position and its passagethrough; said coin 'trece'iving slot is obstructed by said actuatingarm, said upper arm upwardly inclined and provided with a transverseabutment member which projects into said coin receiv- "ing slot in saidhousing for engagement by each coin "10 oing engagementwithsaid'actuating arm every time a afiqim in e t diinsa Qu n-"re v 5 si s means connected to;sai d supporting member' to ;I11OV6 'it-;baCk

to-permit a second coin next'inserted in said coin re- .ceivingtslotwhich deflects said abutment member and --thereby freessaid first cointo move downward in said coin receiving slotand toforce said actuating21111110 3. circuit closingpositiomto' catch up with said first coin .insaid 'coin receiving slot to prevent said actuatingarm I from movingback to its circuit open position before both coins :pass entirelythrough said coin receiving mechanism. Y

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1, including means for holding saidsupporting member out of engagement withsaid actuating arm so that eachcoin inserted in said coin-receiving slot engages said portion of saidactuating armv and moves it momentarily 'to its circuit-closing po- 3.The apparatus set forth in claim 1 'wherein said supporting memberincludes upper and lower arms and a substantially centrally positionedpivot pin-receiving opening, said upper arm'arcuately curved andprovided with a transverse abutment member whichprojects into saidcoin-receiving slot inside said housing, said lower arm provided with'alaterally projecting and integrally attached weight member for biasingsaid supporting member to its supporting position, said lower armterminating in a supporting hook member, said coin-receiving slot'shaped so that the force exerted on said supporting-member by saidretained coin-in saidcoin-receiving slot is ,directed'along alineradialwith the pivotal axis of ro tation' of the supporting member so that thesupporting member will not-rotate out of supporting engagement when itsupports the actuating arm and the weight of the retained coin; V n j v7 Y 7 I4; A'coin-receiving mechanism of the-class described, comprisingin combination a housing, said housing having at least one downwardlyextending coin-receiving slot thercing a microswitch mounted on saidhousing, said 7 zmicroswitch provided'with an actuatingarm movablebetween aswitoh-open and a switch-closed position, means biasing said:actuating armto a switch-open position, said actuating arm having aportion mov ably mounted in said housing and extending into said oneloom-receiving slot 7 whereby coins of a particular denominationgravitating therethrough are adapted'to engage said arm and mo'mentarily move it to its switch closed position, a lever includingupper and lower arms pivotally mounted on saidfhousing, the lower arrnof said lever'providedwith a laterally projecting rigidly attachedbiasing weight memher and a support member, said biasing 'weight me'mberadapted to *move said support member into supporting of a particulardenomination g ravitating therethrough, said abutment spaced far enoughaway from the pivotal axis of said lever and positioned so the weightof'each -coin of said particular denomination inserted in. said' coinreceiving slot and engagingjsaid abutment pivots said :lever sosaidfsupportmember temporarily moves. out of supporting engagement 'withsaid actuating arm, said coin receiving slot shaped so theforceeriertedlon the support member of theleverj bylthe weightkof thecoin cient topermitthe support member which is momentarily moved out ofsupporting engagement with said actuating arm by the engagement of afirst coin inserted in said slot with said abutment member to return toits supporting position before the first inserted coin can engageanddefiect said portion of the actuating arm whereby said first insertedcoin is retained in said coin receiving slot, and shaped to permit asecond coin next 7 inserted in said coin receiving slot which deflectssaid abutment member'and'thereby frees said first coin to move downwardin said coin receiving slot and force said actuating arm to a switchclosed position, to catch up with said first coin in said slot andthereby prevent said actuating arm from moving back to its switch openposition before both coins pass entirely through said coin receivingmechanism, and .acontrol lever pivotally mounted in said housing, saidcontrol lever adapted to be pivoted into engagement with said lever toovercome the biasingforce exerted by said weight member and to pivot thelever so the support member is held permanently out of engagement withsaid actuating arm whereby each coin of said particular denominationinserted in said coin receiving slot engages the unsupported portion ofsaid actuating arm and moves it momentarily to its switch closedposition.

5. A'coin receiving mechanism of the class described comprising ahousing, said housing having at least one downwardly extending coinreceiving slot therein, a lever having upper and lower arms pivotallymounted on' said housing and movable between a first position where saidslotis obstructed and a secondposition'where the slot is not obstructed,the ends of said arms positioned'adjacent upper and lower portions ofsaid slot, the upper arm of said lever having an abutment member securedthereto and extending in;the upper portion of said slot for engagementwith coins of a particular denomination inserted in said slot, saidlower arm'of said leve'r proexerted by said biasing means pivots saidlever arm' and moves it to said second position, said pivoting movementsuflicient to permit said coin to move'past said abutme'nt rnember andcontinue downward in the slot while the biasing means returns said leverto its first -position',"- said slot shaped to provide'a time delay forthe passage ofrcoins of said denomination therethrough which issufficient to permit the lever which is momentarily pivoted'to thesecond position by the engagement of a first coin insertedin said slotwith said abutment member to return to its first position and cause saidfirst inserted coin to be retained in said slot, and shaped to permit asecond coin next inserted in said coin receiving slot which engages saidabutment member and pivots said lever to said second position therebypermitting said retained first coin to continue its movement throughsaid slot, to catch up with said first coin before said lever can moveback to its first position so that thereafter both coins can movethrough the slot substantially together.

6. A coin receiving mechanism of the class described comprising ahousing, said housing having at least one downwardly extending coinreceiving slot, a lever having upper and lower arms pivotally mounted onsaid housing, the ends of said arms positioned adjacent upper and lowerportions of said slot, the upper arm of said lever having an abutmentmember secured thereto and extending in the upper portion of said coinreceiving slot for engagement with coins of a particular denominationinserted in said slot, said lower arm of said lever provided with alaterally projecting rigidly attached weight member and a supportmember, the length of the arms and their relationship with said slotsuch that each coin of said denomination inserted in said slot engagessaid abutment member and overcoming the opposing force exerted by saidweight member pivots said lever arm, said pivoting movement suflicientto permit said coin to move past said abutment member and continuedownward in its slot while the biasing weight returns said lever to itsinitial position, and means in said lower portion of said slot movablebetween a first and second position, said means in said first positionpositioned to be engaged by coins of said denomination passing throughsaid slot and moved thereby to said second position substantially out ofthe path of the coins passing through said slot, said means biasedtoward said first position, the support member of said lever biased intoengagement with said means by said attached weight and while in thatposition, coins of said denomination moving down in said slot engagesaid means and are obstructed and retained in said slot, said coinreceiving slot shaped to provide a time delay for the passage of coinsof said denomination therethrough which is suificient to permit thesupport member which is momentarily moved out of supporting engagementwith said means by the engagement of a first coin inserted in said slotwith said abutment member and the consequent pivoting movement of saidlever arm, to return to its supporting position before the firstinserted coin can engage said means whereby the first inserted coin isretained in said coin receiving slot, and shaped to permit a second coinnext inserted in said coin receiving slot which engages said abutmentmember and causes said supporting member to move out of supportingengagement with said means thereby freeing said first coin to move saidmeans to said second position as it moves down said slot, to catch upwith said first coin before said means can move back to its firstposition so that both coins thereafter move through the remainder of theslot substantially together.

7. The apparatus set forth in claim 6, wherein said slot is shaped sothe force exerted on the support member of the lever by the weight ofthe obstructed coin is radially directed so the lever will not rotatesaid support out of supporting engagement with said means because of thesaid weight of the obstructed coin.

8. A coin receiving mechanism adapted to be connected to a vendingmachine to enable it to be operated, comprising a housing, said housinghaving at least one coin receiving slot, the width of said slotsubstantially uniform and substantially equal to the diameter of coinsof a particular denomination to pe it he passage of saidcoins-therethrough, actuating means in said housing, said actuatingmeans enabling operation of the vending machine in response to passageof a coin of said denomination through a predetermined portion of saidslot, blocking means mounted in said housing and movable between a firstand second position, said blocking means in said first positionoperating to retain coins of said denomination in said slot and preventtheir passage past said predetermined portion of said slot, and in saidsecond position permitting every coin of said denomination inserted insaid slot to move past said predetermined portion of said slot, coinresponsive means connected to said blocking means and operating totemporarily move said blocking means to said second position at leastwhen the second of two coins of said denomination passes through saidslot so that both coins of said denomination move past saidpredetermined portion of said slot together and cause a single movementof said actuating means which enables a vending machine to be operated,and means for permanently holding said blocking means in said secondposition in said slot so that said actuating means moves to enable avending machine to be operated each time a coin of said denominationpasses through said slot.

9. A coin receiving mechanism of the class described comprising incombination a housing, said housing having at least one coin receivingslot extending therethrough, and circuit closing means mounted in saidhousing, said circuit closing means having a portion extending into saidcoin receiving slot and movable therein whereby the passafe of a coin ofa particular denomination through said slot engages and moves saidportion of the circuit closing means and closes a circuit, supportingmeans mounted in said housing and movable into supporting engagementwith the portion of said circuit closing means so it is prevented frommoving by the passage of a coin of said particular denomination in saidslot and so obstructs and retains said coin in said slot, coinresponsive means in said slot, said coin responsive means rigidlysecured to said supporting means and operating to temporarily move saidsupporting means out of supporting engagement with said portion of saidcircuit closing means whenever coins of said denomination pass throughsaid slot, means biasing said supporting means so it automaticallyreturns to its supporting position after it has been temporarily movedaway therefrom, said coin receiving slot shaped to provide a time delayfor the passage of a first coin through said slot which is suflicient topermit the supporting means to return to its supporting position andthereby block the passage of a coin of said denomination through saidslot, and when a second coin is inserted in said slot to permit thesecond coin to catch up with the first coin after the supporting meanshas been temporarily moved out of said slot so that both coins movethrough a portion of the coin receiving slot together and cause only asingle circuit closing movement of the circuit closing means.

10. The apparatus set forth in claim 9 including means for permanentlyholding said supporting means out of supporting engagement with saidportion of said circuit closing means so said portion of said circuitclosing means moves to close a circuit each time a coin of saiddenomination passes through said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,179,091 Hoyt Nov. 7, 1939 2,204,083 Hoyt June 11, 1940 2,674,655Gallagher Apr. 6, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 172,893 Great Britain Dec. 22,1921

